


Memories of Forgiveness

by Jaydeemz



Category: How to Get Away with Murder
Genre: Family!Coliver, Future Fic, M/M, Non-graphic violence referred to, mentions of bullying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-25
Updated: 2015-02-25
Packaged: 2018-03-15 05:27:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3435212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jaydeemz/pseuds/Jaydeemz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Connor and Oliver's teenage son gets in trouble for being at the wrong place, at the wrong time... and he looks a bit too much like Connor during a specific, fateful night twenty years prior for his fathers to chide him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Memories of Forgiveness

Oliver's car was still rolling when he jammed the vehicle in park and shut off his engine. It lurched dangerously and Oliver knew there would be a very expensive bill attached to this display of impatience sometimes in the near future. Nevertheless, his seatbelt had been removed a few seconds before pulling in the parking spot and he opened the door abruptly, grasping at it a half second before it would dent what he was sure was the principal's Mercedes, and almost fell out of the car in his haste. 

He stumbled away from the car just in time for his path to be abruptly cut off by another vehicle, and he almost swore out loud as the window rolled down and he realized he was looking at his husband. 

"Oliver," Connor simply said, "breathe." 

"They called you too?" Oliver gaped in surprise. He'd told the school he would take care of it. "Your case! Wasn't the hearing today? Who–" 

"My assistant and my students are on it," Connor replied as his car idled, "so slow down before you get hit by traffic, and wait for me." 

Moments later, Connor had parked his car and was slowly making his way to a jittery Oliver, who was standing on the school steps and was shifting his weight from one foot to another, looking pale and upset. 

"Can you walk any slower?" Oliver bit at him when Connor began to climb the staircase at a slower pace. The lawyer simply shot Oliver an amused smirk as he finally stood near him, before he reached over and gave his husband a kiss. 

"Conn-" 

Connor's hand reached up to grasp Oliver's hair, and he carefully pressed their lips together again. Oliver opened his mouth to protest, and Connor smirked before he successfully slid their tongues together. The action mollified his husband, who finally began to kiss back, although his fingers were clenched with stress. Connor didn't relent in his affection until the other man had calmed considerably.

"So you're going to be that type of parent?" Oliver mumbled against Connor's lips once they'd briefly parted. "The one who makes out with his spouse in front of your adolescent kids?"

"Not the first time we make out in front of our kids... and their friends." Connor's smirk is victorious, reminiscent of the way he used to be when he first met Oliver. "I've never quite been able to care. How can I keep to myself when my husband's so handsome?"

Connor reaches up to kiss a flushed Oliver again, and they are peaceful for one moment before Oliver jerked back. "Connor, we need to go. Michael–" 

"Probably won't get very far since he's tucked away in the principal's office," reminded the lawyer as he stepped back and took Oliver's hand. "Let's go see what the fuss is about, and why he's being suspended, before we freak out." 

Oliver looked ready to start hyperventilating again at the thought, and Connor smiled before he stated his purpose to the secretary inside, and was buzzed in. 

***

"Your son," the principal coldly said, "beat up another student."   
It was a rather cliché image, Connor thought. The man was everything he had imagined in a principal – stern, brown suit and red tie, grey hair slicked back with too much gel – and his office held too much mahogany and pewter. He was staring at the dozens of certificates and diplomas aligned on the wall when he felt the sharp jab of Oliver's elbow digging in his side. 

Oliver was glaring at him, and Connor cleared his throat and sat up straighter when Oliver said, "We're terribly sorry, sir. He's not a violent boy, he–" 

"Save it, Mr..." He glanced briefly down at the paper in front of him. "...Mr Hampton-Walsh. He broke school rules, and will be suspended for the rest of the week. He will also get another week of detention, and has to write a formal letter of apology to the student in question." 

"Isn't that punishment a bit severe for a few punches?" Connor spoke up, his eyebrows quirked. 

The principal stared straight at him. "The student's in the hospital, sir, and will remain there for a few days. It was a lot more severe than 'punches'." 

A few moments of utter silence filled the room.

Connor felt Oliver look at him, but the blood rushed in his ears and focusing had become terribly difficult. He vaguely heard Oliver asking about Michael's whereabouts after promising they would cooperate with the school, and they stood up and made their way to another office. Michael sat with a few more teenagers, looking at his feet without participating in the chatter around him. The other students didn't look as distraught as he did.

As the door opened and Michael Hampton-Walsh stood up, the fathers distinctly heard a boy hiss, "I'm sure your lawyer-daddy's proud of you." The room dissolved in snickers as the door slammed behind the principal, who had stepped in to chide the students some more. 

The teenage boy – definitely Connor's biological son, inheriting Connor's thick dark hair and amber-coloured eyes – immediately blurted out – definitely Oliver's son; this wasn't a Walsh family trait – as he looked resolutely at the floor, "It wasn't my fault. They made me film it – the beating. I was the only one with power left in my phone. They wanted to put it on YouTube. I-I didn't want to be dragged into this." He was twisting his hands in front of him, nervously licking and biting at his lower lip.

Both fathers remained silent. Oliver heaved a disappointed sigh when he realized that Connor would most likely remain silent in this. There had been other disciplinary measures as their children had grown up, of course, but Connor didn't seem inclined to take care of this specific incident.

Michael finally glanced up, and the haunted, guilty look in his eyes made Oliver's reprimand die in his throat. It looked too familiar.

Oliver stood frozen in place as Connor immediately reached over to pull their son in a hug, recognizing the distress he felt. Michael melted in the embrace and bit at his lip some more, and would most likely have been a lot more confused about Connor's reaction if he hadn't been so relieved that the torrent of punishment he'd expected hadn't quite come his way yet. 

Connor broke the hug and Michael looked at Oliver, who was still battling between the fatherly instinct to love, and the practical instinct to ground him until adulthood, since Connor didn't seem too intent on ensuring that something like this wouldn't happen again. 

"I'm-I'm sorry, Pa," Michael reluctantly offered as he glanced at Oliver's necktie nervously. 

Oliver chose the stern route, since Connor still had an arm slung around his son's shoulders comfortingly and was even smiling down at Michael. "I hope you know how serious this is, Mike. You stood by while a school colleague was beaten almost to–" 

"I know," the boy sulked, shrinking in on himself. He then drew in a slow breath and murmured, "I'm really sorry... God, he's in the hospital, he– he could've died and I just... I just watched. I-I screwed up. I screwed up and... and..." 

Connor immediately looked away, but Oliver saw the gloss in his eyes and they were both suddenly reminded of a night about twenty years prior. Oliver saw the moment Michael broke down as his breathing became erratic, and he reached out of his own accord to place a hand on Conn– no, Michael's shoulder. 

"Come on, we'll go home and talk about this," Oliver whispered, and he wasn't quite sure if Michael or Connor looked more relieved at that exact moment. They followed Michael's shuffle until they were outside the school, and the young boy didn't complain when Connor tightly wound his hand in Oliver's in front of other students.

"Thank you," Connor murmured as they approached the cars. He reached over and quickly pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Do you mind if I drive him home?" 

Oliver shook his head and waited until Michael had shuffled in Connor's car. He turned to Connor and kept his voice low as he said, "Should we ground him at all?" 

"The guilt's enough of a punishment," Connor replied weakly. His face was still pale, and Oliver was rather surprised when Connor's voice dropped to a whisper and he said, "Trust me." 

Connor's eyes flickered back to Oliver, and they met for a long moment. Memories of a confession whispered in the dark, and forgiveness in tight embraces, reminded Oliver of what he forgave his boyfriend in the past. Oliver eventually nodded, and gave Connor a quick kiss, before they each settled in their individual car to head back home.


End file.
